13 to Life by Shannon Delany

Summary:(from goodreads) Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town.
It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid.
Review: This is the first book in the 13 to Life series and I enjoyed it. It was pretty typical for a paranormal romance but was still able to stay fresh and new. It took a very long time for the paranormal twist to be revealed which I had mixed feelings about. First of all, I just thought it was annoying because as a reader I figured out what this big secret was a long time before the characters did, so I just wanted to get the big reveal over with and move through the various stages of shock. On the other hand, part of me liked the slower pace that this book took. Although there were some suspicious things going on it wasn't entirely focused on the paranormal. Now the rest of the series can delve more in to that aspect of the storyline. I had mixed feelings about the characters as well. I liked Jessie and Pietr, there were a few things that bothered me about them though. First of all, I thought their romance was kind of sudden and the chemistry was not all that believable, especially in the first half of the book, it did get better. Another thing that annoyed me was that Jessie did not seemed near surprised or shocked enough upon finding out the truth. Also, I don't find her forgiveness to be all that realistic. overall, this book was a good read and I will be continuing with this series.